Johns believes that the Papua New Guinea Hunters should be the next team to join the competition.

The PNG Hunters have been apart of the Queensland Cup since their induction in 2014, and will battle the Sunshine Coast Falcons this Sunday for premiership glory.

Johns believes there is a lack of creativity and vision when determining where the NRL should expand and has urged executives of the game to venture outside Australia.

"I urge the game to think out of the square, go away from their traditional thinking. We look at the game too narrowly and we look at the Australian continent ... we keep talking that 'we want Perth, we want Perth' and I get that," Johns said on Triple M's The Grill Team .

"(But) The Pacific Islands, that's where the growth is.

"Last weekend in Port Moresby to get into the game [preliminary final] they were lining up for 24 hours to watch the game."

Johns says he rates the Queensland Cup as highly as the English Super League in terms of talent and the NRL should invest in Port Moresby's passion for rugby league.

"They could be the West Indies. The West Indies revolutionised cricket in the 80s and they could do the same thing for rugby league," Johns said.

Rugby league is the most popular sport in PNG and the national team opens their Rugby League World Cup campaign against Wales on the 28th of October.